The Michigan Daily- Friday, April 12, 1991 - Page 9
242_bring techno-ry
by Mike Molitor -
An evening with Front 242 will be
the antithesis of Woodstock.
Instead of peace, love and earthiness,
242 will be a fest of technological
brutality, antiseptic and precisely
controlled aggression unleased
through four Belgian men who
sound more like robots than flesh-
and-blood sympathetic beings. In
other words, the show will be a
doom bash set to an unrelenting me-
chanical beat, the perfect expression
for the alienation inherent in mod-
ern technology. Front 242 are the
future now. They represent the ul-
timate end of music in the 21st cen-
tury: the harnessing of machines to
express the pain of living in a world
gone mad. No, don't expect any
acoustic guitars.
Formed in 1981 in the tiny
country of Belgium by Daniel B
(who was joined by Patrick Codenys
and Jean-Luc DeMeyer in.k1982and
Richard 23 in 1983), Front 242 built
up a small but intensely loyal cult
of fans in the U.S. with such records
as No Comment, Official Version
and Front by Front. Although, the
band struggled in relative obscurity
while it built up its arsenal of mu-
sical assault weapons, the latter al-
bum included the band's break-
RECORDS
for you
would come to be known as
industrial music (with the possible
exception of Ministry, who seem to
have devolved into a parody of
themselves lately). Along the way,
lead singer Richard 23 even had time
to collaborate with Ministry's Al
"Alien" Jourgensen on the first
Revolting Cocks record.
Major-label recognition (which
always seems to be light-years
behind what's happening in the real
world) followed. Last year, the
band graduated from the small
Chicago-based Wax Trax! label to
the big league waters of Epic
Records. Contrary to expectations,
however, the label change has not
affected their sound - if anything,
the band became even more brutal.
Although the early singles such as
. "U Men" and "Geography" subtly
hinted at major-key melodies, the
new album, Tyranny (For You),
leaves such pussyfoot notions be-
hind. This is the sound of pure mech-
anized aggression, as if computers
could have a testosterone overdose.
WHO
Continued from page 8
American, will be performed
tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and
Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the
Performance Network. Presented by
Kuumba, Common Ground
Ensamble and Mosaic Theater
Project, Soul Stretch features a one-
man play as well as a performance
piece employing jazz, fold, rap, rock,
R&B and European classical ar-
rangements. And he does some
pretty funky things with his guitar
too. Call 663-0681 for ticket in-
formation.
uathdi nrathGmiyaThewnI
* 25 Copies on Rest
* 25 Matching Blank
- 25 Matching Envel
ume Paper
Sheets
opes
Front 242 (l-r, Patrick Codenys, Jean-Luc DeMeyer and Richard 23),
looking like the rejects from Terminator 2, pose 4 U in a cathedral.
through dance singles,
"Headhunter" and "Welcome to
Paradise" (which featured the
Jimmy Swaggart-like exhortations
of a televangelist yelling "No sex
until marriage!")
These two songs established the
band as leaders of the pack in what
FRONT 242 weird out the Latin
Quarter in Detroit tonight. Doors
open at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are
$16.50 in advance (p.e.s.c.) at
TicketMaster.
ONLY
kinko's
the copy center
Continued from page 8
police shooting inner-city denizens.
With the same bebop track that A
Tribe Called Quest sampled for "If
the Papes Come," "Baseball" is not
so provocative as it is amusing, with
the lead rapper raging, "My life is
valuable and I protect it like a gem/
Instead of cops shootin' me/ I'm
goin' out shootin' them/ And let
'em cough up blood like phlegm/
It's grim, but dead is my antonym."
Commencing to the jazzy instru-
mental track "Scratch & Kut," the
outrage of "Baseball" is expended
into a slow, concentrated decline of
combined piano and turntable hits.
Without falling into thematic
cliches, Main Source drop messages
and produce exuberant tracks that
demonstrate their ability to advance
the genre. The most needed message
in rap comes through in the frenetic,
loping "Peace Is Not The Word To
Play": "If something is yours by
right, then fight for it. Or shut up."
Statements like this make Breaking
Atoms a wholly satisfying rap al-
bum, with the exception of the
overdone "Large Professor" and the
superfluous."Watch Roger Do His
Thing." Main Source are perfectly
suited to tide one over between rap's
last milestone, This Is An EP
Release, and the dubious NWA al-
bum to come. -F. Green III
Open 24 Hours
540 E. Liberty
761-4539
Open 7 Days
Michigan Union
662-1222
Open 24 Hours
1220 S. University
747-9070
*1
A totally new take
on those tried
wes
and true tales
DSr
Founding member of The Byrds. Back from Rio to Ann Arbor
With Special Guest
DAVE ALVIN
Formerly of The Blasters
Thursday, April 18 / 8PM
MICHIGAN THEATRE
Liberty and State
ANN ARBOR
10>,--3 --I-Q F
On sale now at Ticketmaster locations thru-out Michigan and the
Michigan Theater Box Office. TELECHARGE:
Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo (616) 456-3333. Detroit (616) 645-6666.
Lansing (616) 484-5656 & Battle Creek (616) 963-8080.
The University of Michigan
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Sun. Apr. 14
Mon. Apr. 15
Afro-American Music Collection:
The Uptown String Quartet
"an electrifying fusion of jazz, gospel,
blues, and contemporary sounds'
Diane Monroe, violin; Lesa Terry, violin;
Maxine Roach, viola; Eileen M. Folson,
cello
Tickets: $15, $10, $7 (763-TKTS)
Patron tickets: $100 (couple), $75 (single)
(includes after-concert reception - call 764-
0586)
Rackham Lecture Hall, 6 p.m.
Composers' Forum
School of Music Recital Hall, 8 pm.
Arts Chorale
Paul Rardin, conductor
Pinkham: Wedding Cantata
Bernstein: "Almighty Father" from Mass
and "French Choruses" from The Lark
Copland: "At the River," "The Promise of
Living, " and "Zion's Walls" from The
Tender Land
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Early Music Ensemble
Edward Parmentier, director
Bach: Motet "Firchte dich nicht"
Works of Monteverdi, Schutz, and others
Blanche Anderson Moore Hall,
School of Music, 8 p.m.
Tue. Apr.
16
A humorous updating of
Grimm's classic fairy tales
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondhei
Book by James Lapine
-ij
Musical Theatre Program
Power Center
Apri18 - 20 at 8 PM,
April 21 at 2 PM'
Tickets: $12 and $9
Student seating $5 with ID
at the League Ticket Office
m
1
DEMONSTRATE
YOUR
SOLIDARITY
This
SUMMER
for
as little as
ISRAEL SOLIDARITY SUMMER-1991
a unique study and touring program
WHEN 1st 4-Week Session: May 27-June27. 2nd 4-Week Session: June 26-July 26. Full
Session: May 27-July 26. WHAT 1. A comprehensive introduction to Talmudic and
Biblical analysis, Jewish history and philosophy, and contemporary theological, ethical
and political issues taught by an intemationally-renowned staff of scholars. 2. Specially
designed tours of Jerusalem, the Galilee, the Golan Heights, Masada, the Dead Sea, and the
Negev. 3. Comprehensive instruction in Hebrew language. 4. An opportunity to
demonstrate your solidarity and concern for Israel. WHERE The program is based at the
modern Jerusalem campus of Ohr Somayach. WHO Jewish men between the ages of 19-
Wed. Apr. 17
Thu. Apr. 18
Thu.-Sun.
Apr. 18-21
Fri. Apr. 19
Michigan Chamber Players with
guest Richard Young, violin/viola
Erling BUondal Bengtsson, cello; Katherine
Collier, piano; Paul Kantor, violin; Yizhak
Schotten, viola; and Stephen Shipps, violin
Hindemith: Sonata for Viola and Piano,
op. 11, no. 4
Kodaly: Serenade for Two Violins and Viola,
op. 12
Shostakovich: Piano Trio in e-minor, op. 76
School of Music Recital Hall, 8 p.m.
University of Michigan
Jazz Combos
North Campus Commons Dining Room, 8 p.m.
Musical Theatre
Sondheim: Into the Woods
Tickets: $12, $9, $5 (students) (764-0540)
Power Center for the Performing Arts
8 p.m. (Thu.-Sat.); 2 p.m. (Sun.)
University of Michigan
Wind Ensemble
H. Robert Reynolds, director
Hartley: Concerto for 23 Winds
Mozart: Serenade no. 12, K.388
Riegger: Nonet for Brass
Poulenc: Suite Frangaise
Rackham Lecture Hall, 8 p.m.
Faculty Recital bysEdward
Parmentler, harpsichord
Bach: Concerto in D, BWV 972
and Partita IV in D-Major, BWV 828
Byrd: Pavana Lachrimae
Forqueray: Three Pieces from Pieces de
Clavecin
Scarlatti: Sonatas in E-flat Major, K.193 and
253, and Sonata in a-minor, K.175
Blanche Anderson Moore Hall,
School of Music, 8 p.m.